Fish from Formosa-contaminated waters being tested for safety
The Ministry of Health is conducting tests on seafood samples collected from the central provinces, which were affected by the Formosa toxic spill, to determine if they are safe for consumption.
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Tests are being conducted after Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh last week demanded clear information on the safety of consuming deep-sea seafood, after the toxic spill by Hung Nghiep Formosa’s steel plant in Ha Tinh in April last year.
Information from the ministry is expected to help the Government determine whether to lift the soft ban on catching deep-sea fish, which has impacted thousands of fishermen in the region for almost a year.
If the tests are clear, it will reassure consumers and help resolve the problem of low sale of seafood in the region’s markets.
Two months after the Formosa environmental disaster, in June last year, the ministry announced that fish in the region’s waters was safe for consumption. However, days later, it issued a list of 154 deep-sea fish that could not be consumed.
Unable to distinguish between deep-sea fish and others species, people from the region stopped buying seafood.
